01/06/2011: Do you know how to get better car tyre prices?

How often do you think about car tyres prices? Well like most of us I expect the answer is only when you want to buy some new tyres. So let me offer you a timely bit of advice about car tyres prices that could save money in the future. At the moment, all car tyres prices are tending to increase, driven in part by the cost of raw materials and in part by the recent bad weather and the high demand for winter tyres. This used up existing stocks of raw materials so car tyres prices for summer or all-year use are likely to increase.

However, it’s worth noting that you can counter rising car tyres prices if you are prepared to do a bit of homework and understand what would be the best tyres to suit both your car and your driving conditions irrespective of car tyres prices. I say this because you may have more choice than you think when it comes to car tyres prices so learning a little now can give you benefits when you buy your tyres so that you might be able to take advantage of the best car tyres prices at that time.

For many non-technical people, car tyres prices are simply what the retailer can offer for a certain size and brand and comparing prices like-for-like can seem like the only option. However, if you learn a little more you may be able to choose differently. For example, it’s a fact that car tyres prices are affected by the tyre’s specification. Choosing the right tyre is not just a matter of wheel rim size because car tyres prices also depend on the design of the tyre, the materials used in its construction and the technology that lies behind the design.

Looking at car tyres prices for my Ford Focus for example, the original tyres are rated as 205/55 R16 91V. This coding is actually quite simple and when you understand it you can have more choice over your both tyre makes and car tyres prices. For example, 205 is the width of the tyre in mm, R is the code for a radial tyre, 16 is the wheel rim size in inches, 55 is the tyre profile or depth as a percentage of its width, 91 is a code for the weight the tyre is designed to carry and V is the rating for maximum speed. So what does this have to do with car tyres prices you might well ask?

The point I’m making here about car tyres prices is that any tyre which carries those coding numbers is suitable for your car. Once you understand this you are a long way towards a better understanding of car tyres prices. For my car for example, I recently found tyres that matched the specification but ranging in price from £55 each to over £135 each. The point is that all of these will do the same job but many are designed to go on different cars that happen to have the same wheel size but are faster or heavier for example. There is also a quality issue in that some will last longer, stop sooner, run quieter and use less fuel but that’s a story for another day.